Horse hay-fork



(No Model.)

I. A. BENNETT.

HORSE HAY PORK.

Patented Feb. 3, 1885 .3 E HI I I N. PETERS. Phomljlhographnr. WuhiugmmD. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT @TTTQE.

FRED A. BENNETT, OF MILWAUKEE, WVISGONSIN.

HORSE H AY-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,728, dated February3, 1885.

Application filed May 31, 1884. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and in the State ofWVisconsin,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay- Forks; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to hayforks, and will be fully describedhereinafter.

I In the drawings, Figure 1 1s a front elevation of my improvedhay'fork. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same. Figs. 3 and l are details,the former being a section on the line a: 00 of Fig. l.

A is the bail of my fork, and B are the legs. The bail is of inverted-Ushape, and the legs each consist of two flat straps of iron joinedtogether at their lower ends by a point,which is usually welded to them.An end of the bail fits between the upper ends of the sides r of eachleg, and is secured therein by suitable rivets.

O is a brace that serves to hold the legs 13 apart. This brace isbifurcated at its ends, and a leg is secured between each bifurcation byrivets a and bolts 1), the latter serving as pivots for the lever-arms DD. Near the point of each leg, and between its members, a tine, E, ispivoted, and the outer end of this tine, which is bent at an obtuseangle to-its inner end, is connected by curved links F with the outerend, (I, of lever-arm D. Each of the lever-arms D has a handle, which isperforated at d to receive one of the operating cords or I chains, G,and this handle is joined to the end at by the curved portion d", which,when the handle is in the position shown in full lines in the drawings,rests against the inner edge of the legs, just above the brace, but,when thelever has been drawn down to the position shown in the dottedlines, rests in a recess, 0, in the brace C.

In operation my fork differs very slightly from the well-knowndouble-harpoon fork. By draft on the cords or chains G the leverarms arethrown into the position shown in Be it known that l, FRED A. DENNETT,of dotted lines and the tines are drawn in between the sides of thelegs. The fork is then thrust into the hay and the levers drawn by handinto the position shown in full lines. This throws the tines out intothe hay and carriestheir outer ends below adead-centelgsothat the bars Fform braces, which, acting between l the ends (Z of the lever-arms D Dand the outer I end of the liarpoon-tines E E, lock the latter with itsinner end in the hay, which will be held firmly thereby until thehandles of the lever-arms are depressed by the attendant far enough tocause the curved links F to raise the outer ends of their tines abovethe center upon which they turn, when the weight of the 1 load willforce them into the position shown in dotted lines, and the hay will bereleased. By the use of the curved lever-arms D and l the brace G,having recesses to receive the curves, I am enabled to greatly reducethe height of bail without diminishing the capac- 1 ity of the fork, andalso to permit the handles of the levers D to be carried outside of thebail,where they can be easily reached and operated.

Having thus described my in vention,what I Patent, is

1. In a hayfork, the combination, with the legs and bail, of the bracehaving a recess in each end, the curved operating-levers and the tinesconnected therewith. i 2. In a hay-fork, the operating-levers, each 1 ofwhich has two approximatelystraightportions joined by a curved portion,(1, in combination with the tines and the legs, as and for the purposeset forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of W'isconsin, in thepresence of two witnesses.

FRED A. DENNETT.

\Vitn esses:

STANLEY S. STOUT, H. G. UNDERWOOD.

claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters

